It was off-kilter, lacking a big chorus and even weaved in a dubious 80s ballad. Work also clicked perfectly, capturing two of the era’s defining artists and a song all the more infectious for its rule-defying restraint

Beyoncé’s vivid discourse on infidelity and race – with equally brilliant film accompaniment – was lacerating, astute and emphatically disruptive, turning her from mere pop superstar into an avenging angel

The R&B trailblazer’s second record attempted nothing less than living up to the pan-racial, genre-straddling reality of 21st-century youth culture. No wonder we had to resize our imaginations to match